Charming and handsome young man that nobles have no problems gossiping to. Mateo was handpicked by Queen Augustine to attend the Ambrose Institute and hone his skills for intel gathering and spying. He is a sweetheart who is also searching for his gaggle of lost siblings that he was separated from during the war.

Mateo tapped his foot nervously against the floor. He kept his hands still in his lap and waited in the empty room. Nothing about the tests were anything he could have come close to expecting. The manners portion, Mateo did his best to seem refined and keep the conversation interesting. And then all the questions, about his family and so many things he could hardly even think of what they didn't ask about.

He was sure it wasn't bad sign, this empty room. Mateo tried not to think back to the days before. The strange tests and questions he found invasive. He was asked to come here. Was asked really the word to use when a Queen proposed you join a private group and sent you off to an elite school to be tested? He was trying to decide when the door opened.

Relief was clear on Mateo's face when another person joined him in the room. The silence was almost disturbing and he started speaking as soon as the door closed. "It's probably a good sign, right? Being put in this room off from everything?" He didn't give pause for her to answer just yet before he continued. "I mean, it could be another test. I'm Mateo." Mateo smiled, hoping to drown the silence with some smalltalk at the least.

The physical test threw her off. Then the interrogation finalized her conclusion: this wasn’t just an etiquette school. She couldn’t exactly recall, behind the stress, how she’d landed herself here so unprepared. As she walked out of the interrogation, her mind still running with ideas about her family history, she walked into the waiting room only to be immediately subjected to conversation. Though she was offput at the idea of someone just talking at her and expecting her to catch up, the boy in the room seemed to mean well.

After everything she’d just been through, she didn’t know what she was getting tested for anymore, but he could have been a test himself. Still, he seemed desperate to talk by the way the words poured out of him. She wasn’t going to treat him to silence in return. Ana wasn’t the kind of person to survive a challenge at someone’s expense. That would be cheapening her worth and ability to overcome regardless.

“Anastasia,” she answered with her name, her voice measured and her body bending into a slight curtsy out of politeness. “This is likely just a waiting room.” She didn’t completely believe that, but she’d stay braced for anything and act as she normally would. She saw a mirror on the other side of the room and scurried over. “Oh thank heavens, some salvation.” She adjusted her ruffled hair in the mirror, trying to rescue her already compromised bun. The physical test had roughened her appearance, but she heard a few important names dropped during the session. In case anyone of import came along, she had to look her best.

“For an etiquette school,” she said discreetly, not feeling like making a giant announcement of this, “they did a strange job on re-lacing my corset.” Pouting at her reflection, she shrugged to herself. “The least they could have done was warn us about the physical test. The whole examination seemed a bit dramatic to me.” Since she didn’t trust him very much, she didn’t let on that she didn’t know what she was here for. “I had to change into a uniform just to be able to participate. You seemed to have come prepared.” At least, she assumed the outfit he was wearing was a result of necessity and awareness, not a matter of his personal taste. No one of import like she assumed he was would wear clothes like that by choice to such a formal affair. “Lucky man. How did it go for you?”

Charming and handsome young man that nobles have no problems gossiping to. Mateo was handpicked by Queen Augustine to attend the Ambrose Institute and hone his skills for intel gathering and spying. He is a sweetheart who is also searching for his gaggle of lost siblings that he was separated from during the war.

Finally there was a chance to simply talk with some freedom. Mateo wasn't entirely sure this girl was not just another person sent to test him but he couldn't stand being quiet any longer. He smiled at her introduction, giving a slight nod as he spoke "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anastasia."

The suggestion of the room being just a waiting area was not unlikely. Mateo had been sitting by himself for what seemed like ages before Anastasia showed up. He watched her hurry over to the mirror and straighten up her appearance some. After the first round of physical test Mateo gave up on the idea of keep his hair looking normal. His clothes we at least buttoned properly and somehow still looking alright. "You might do better taking it down and tying it up again. I can manage a decent french braid if you'd like."

Of all the things his sisters insisted Mateo learn, hair braiding seemed to be the most important. He couldn't say he had much need for the skill with no siblings around to bug him for help with their hair but it was a skill he had non the less. Mateo blinked at her calling this place an etiquette school. Aside from the meal there was nothing that he could find suggesting this place to be school for manners and what he heard before coming here conflicted with that notion. If this were still a test however Mateo would not be the one to give out information he shouldn't. "This is a strange school altogether, isn't it?"

Mateo's nervous foot-tapping dissipated with the beginnings of their conversation. He took a moment to look around their surrounds again for any sign of what was to come next but found nothing interesting or out of place besides the two of them. "It would have been, but I suppose that's part of the test. Element of surprise or something like that." Mateo agreed. With the mention of coming prepared Mateo glanced down at his daywear and chuckled. "You could say that."

He frowned at Anastasia's question with uneasiness still swirling in his belly. "I could hope to say well, but then again I'm not the one judging. " Mateo shrugged, trying to seem hopeful even if he didn't hold much confidence in the matter. "How about you?"

The Selection has started! Queen Augustine has sent out invitations to all eligible noble women in the hopes that Prince Edmund might choose one to marry. Look out for parties and special events. The event will culminate in the annual Agathon Cinderella Ball.

season & skin change

It's now winter 1906/07. Look out for winter themed events and mini-events coming soon! Also we have a new skin courtesy of Abbi!

emeraude event

The Emeraude event, set summer 1906, is still open and there are still magical objects waiting to be found! Claim your item here.

new species

We have 15 out of 23 new species spots open. Remember that you must have more than 5 active characters and 2 months of activity before you can app a species outside of the Bestiary. More rules can be found here.

1. Register with your character's first and last name in all caps. If your character has a title (king, queen, princess, etc.), please add it into the name when you register. Thanks to Jcink software, you can link multiple character accounts together. No member accounts (accounts with your alias) please!

2. Avatars are 250x400! Signatures should not stretch the board or be more than 450 pixels high. Gifs are allowed. Celebrity playbys are required. We allow our members to hold four playby reservations at a time. Please refrain from using any images that are a little too graphic (ie. nudity, excessive gore).

3. An unfinished application will not be moved for two weeks. After those two weeks, we will notify you and give you two days to tell us whether you need more time or want it archived.

4. 200 minimum word count, but more is always welcome. If you have trouble in matching this, try to think of details. Past tense, third-person POV (i.e. "He walked into the bar and sat down for a drink"). If you are going to be away, please post in our absence forum and let us know!

5. Avoid god-modding, meta-playing and common RP misconduct. For those that don't know, god-modding is controlling the other person's character without their permission and meta-playing is the player using knowledge they have that their character wouldn't have - for example, the character suddenly knowing that the other character is a vigilante or is afraid of snakes.

6. OOC harassment, disrespect and bullying are not tolerated, whether it is directed at staff or non-staff players. If there are any issues between members, please contact one of the staff privately. Keep it out of the cbox. Begging for posts, spamming and harassment can result in loss of privileges in the Cbox. Please remember there can be guests watching at any time. Do not gossip about or promote other sites in the cbox. Keep it friendly!

site specific rules

1.The land of Lairea is located on Earth, amongst the countries as they were circa 1906. A map is in progress and will be linked when available.

2. We accept fairy tale inspired characters but it is not required. However, if you decide to do this, get a little creative with it. It shouldn't have to be copy and paste versions of fairy tale characters.

3.Despite this being a historical site, we do not accept historical figures or real people. Please feel free to have characters inspired by or based upon a historical figure, but they do need to be different.

Alice is the sassiest of the admins and a chronic binge poster. She can start and finish a fourteen post thread in a matter of hours. It's incredible to be a part of, let alone to witness. She's totally the mom who helps you turn your project from boring to enthralling while simultaneously being the mom who calls your bluff when you need it. Keep it down beans.

abbi

After being a member for about a year and a half, Abbi was promoted to admin, which was really inevitable. She plays an insane amount of characters and has a list for everything. She's basically your cool aunt who has the ridiculous life that you can't comprehend, and lbr, neither can she, but it's happening.

rily

Rily is a princess. It is known. Seriously though, she is. No one has anything bad to say about Rily ever. Abbi had one complaint once, but then it was revealed that she had misunderstood what Rily has said and then it was retracted immediately. She's 100% your grandma who always has cookies and pets your hair and tells you how much she loves you.

ziggy

Ziggy is basically the glue that holds everything together. She definitely also writes the most out of any of the admins. She's the other site mom, but like, the kind that patiently guides you and holds your hand until you're ready to face the scary thing on your own. You know she's always there behind you, supporting you and ready to help out.